Examples from the Psalms
2 Spontaneous joy over a rescue from famine (Ps 33:18–)
2.2 Joy of the heart (Ps 33:20–22)
tact with YHWH. His eye15 is permanently (nominal clause) upon those who fear him (
א ֵר ָי
; v. 18a) and who wait for (לחי
; v. 18b) his kindness and love (ד ֶס ֶח
).Both sentences are in synonymous parallelism. Thus, it becomes clear that the worshippers experience God’s love when he looks upon them. In v. 5b the Lord is said to have filled the earth with love. In v. 5a, YHWH is described as a lover of
ה ָק ָד ְצ
andט ָפּ ְשׁ ִמ
. In v. 18, the worshippers wait for YHWH’s love and, thus, also for his judgement. Specifically, they hope for the end of their famine and their mortal fear.2.2 Joy of the heart (Ps 33:20–22)
Our soul/throat16 waits for the LORD, ה ָוהי ַל ה ָת ְכּ ִח וּנ ֵשׁ ְפ ַנ 20a
who is our help and shield. אוּה וּנ ֵנּ ִג ָמוּ וּנ ֵר ְז ֶע 20b For in God our hearts rejoice; וּנ ֵבּ ִל ח ַמ ְשׂ ִי וֹב־י ִכּ 21a
in your holy name we trust. וּנ ְח ָט ָב וֹשׁ ְד ָק ם ֵשׁ ְב י ִכּ 21b May your kindness, LORD, be upon us; וּני ֵל ָע ה ָוה ְי ךָ ְדּ ְס ַח־י ִה ְי 22a
we have put our hope in you. ךְ ָל וּנ ְל ַח ִי ר ֶשׁ ֲא ַכּ 22b
While in vv. 18–19 the statements are prefixed with “behold” and are fairly gen-eral, there is a contrast in vv. 20–22 where the worshippers are clearly speaking of themselves. In v. 20 they begin with
וּנ ֵשׁ ְפ ַנ
, thereby emphasizing their own situation in life. Their throats were, according to the common statement in v. 19a, threatened by death. However, now the worshippers are speaking about this danger in terms of the suffix conjugation. In retrospect, they now describe their earlier waiting for YHWH with the termהכח
. This waiting may be inter-preted as “having patience”.17 After having experienced this rescue, the modifi-cation from desperate to patient waiting is understandable.Having been rescued, the worshippers, in v. 20b, conclude from this that YHWH is their permanent help and shield (v. 20b; nominal clause). In personal
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15 The singular form “the eye of the Lord” (ה ָוה ְי ןי ֵע) is used only in Ps 33:18. However, the eyes of the Lord (ה ָוה ְי י ֵני ֵע; plural) also look favourably upon the land in Deut 11:12 and in Ps 34:16 upon the righteous.
16 Annotation by Ch.A.
17 Cf. Koehler/Baumgartner, Lexikon 1, 300.
prayer God is often described as a shield.18 God is also said to grasp his shield when dealing with legal disputes (Ps 35:2; 47:10).
Fig. 3 (Keel, Bildsymbolik, 202, 367)
This limestone relief illustrates the traditional shields that were used at that time. The image originated during the first years of Ramses II (1301–1234 BC) in the Temple of Luxor.
The use of both terms,
ר ֶז ֵע
andן ֵג ָמ
, stresses the extent of YHWH’s power.19 Since the worshippers’ throats (שׁ ֶפ ֶנ
) have now been saved, their hearts (ב ֵל
)rejoice (v. 21a). The heart – being the seat of the mind – has come to realize that the throat did not wait in vain for YHWH. To them, he is both, help and shield.
In the wake of this realization comes the emotional reaction. The heart of the worshippers rejoices (
חמשׂ
) over YHWH. This joy is specifically emphasized through the prefixed affirmative particles “yes” (י ִכּ
). The waiting has come to an end (vv. 20a, 22b) and there is now cause for rejoicing (prefix conjugation), for YHWH has proven himself to be a lifesaver. The fear of death by starvation has passed by. The worshippers, obviously unexpectedly, have once again received food and, as was common in their day, interpret this rescue as God’s help.Joy within the heart is often described by the term
חמשׂ
.20 In the Hebrew Bible this root is used in more than half of the passages pertaining to “joy”.21 The majority of exegetes identifyחמשׂ
as a static verb.22 However, Richter iden-tifies it as a verb of “emotion” and, thus places it in the category of action||
18 Cf. 2 Sam 22:3, 31; Pss 3:4; 7:11; 18:3, 31; 28:7; 33:20; 84:12; 115:9, 10, 11; 144:2 and Prov 2:7. – In concrete terms, YHWH becomes a shield for Abraham in Gen 15:1 (if this is the meaning there) and for Israel in Deut 33:29.
19 In Ps 115:9–11 YHWH is also described with both terms. In Deut 33:29 YHWH is called
“shield of thy help” (ךָ ֶר ְז ֶע ן ֵג ָמ).
20 Cf. Pss 4:8; 16:9; 19:9; 97:11; 104:15 and 105:3.
21 Cf. Lauha, Sprachgebrauch, 73. – The verb חמשׂ is documented a total of 158x in the Hebrew Bible. The noun ה ָח ְמ ִשׂ appears 97x, the adjective ַח ֵמ ָשׂ 20x (cf. Vanoni, ח ַמ ָשׂ, 809).
22 Cf. Vanoni, ח ַמ ָשׂ, 811.
verbs.23 Many individual contexts testify to a meaning of outward, intense movement.24 Such a sense is often apparent in such expressions as
ליג
,ןנר
,זלע
/ץלע
,שׂושׂ
,עור
andקחשׂ
, which are parallel toחמשׂ
. Ps 33:21a deals with spontaneous joy. The sudden mention of feeling and the use of the verb in the prefix conjugation are indicative of this. Plus, there is a concrete occasion for this positive mood. It is brought about by a moment of joy. The individual wor-shippers share this increasing joy with each other.25YHWH’s help has made happiness possible. Having appreciated this, the worshippers speak directly to YHWH in v. 22a. In Ps 33 this occurs only here.
The people make contact with YHWH and, most likely, they also show him their joy. They associate what they have experienced with his love (
ד ֶס ֶח
), which fills the earth (v. 5b). The worshippers long to feel this kindness. This desire is, as in the statement in v. 21a, described in v. 22a as a current condition in the prefix conjugation. The worshippers, in v. 18c, had already been desperately awaiting this divine devotion. They recollect this in v. 22b. However, what the worship-pers experienced has made them stronger, so that they can proceed to build upon YHWH’s love (v. 22a).2.3 Summary (Ps 33:18–22)
The emotions mentioned in Ps 33:18–22 are physically expressed. In v. 18a the worshippers experience YHWH’s devotion through his eyes (
ן ִי ַע
). Just as they describe themselves in a physical manner, so do they also describe YHWH.Through their eye contact with him, the people feel his closeness and from this they gain trust in him.
They describe their own situation26 by way of the throat (
שׁ ֶפ ֶנ
), which is starving and which feels near death (v. 19). They are in mortal fear, because their throats cannot receive nourishment. This throat awaits YHWH (v. 20a). The worshippers can only await help from him alone (cf. vv. 16–17). Once YHWH has rescued them from mortal danger, their hearts (ב ֵל
) react. The heart has the capability of recognizing YHWH’s help (v. 20b) and of trusting in his holy name||
23 Cf. Richter, Grundlagen, 95–96.
24 Cf. Vanoni, ח ַמ ָשׂ, 810.
25 In vv. 19a and 20a, the heart, just like the throat, is used in the singular for the group of several worshippers. An entire people can identify themselves with this collectively conceived heart.
26 Although vv. 18–19 are conceived in general terms, their context indicates a concern with the situation of the worshippers themselves.
(v. 21b). Furthermore, the heart reacts in an emotional manner; it rejoices (v. 21a).
Joy suddenly comes upon them. This joy is to be understood as a reaction to the specific help that has been experienced. It concerns a moment of joy. This joy strengthens the worshippers’ trust in YHWH’s love and help. The briefly experi-enced happiness contributes to the positive mood of those affected. Such a mood, for its part, becomes apparent later, matching the instruction to the righteous, who were already called upon to shout for joy at the beginning (cf. vv. 1–3).